Law enforcement officials up to the highest level of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) distorted and hid evidence related to the killing of historian Dr Walter Rodney, according to the report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) that investigated his death.
The CoI had been set up in 2014 by then President Donald Ramotar to determine as far as possible who or what was responsible for the explosion that killed Rodney on June 13, 1980. The CoI had concluded that Rodney was the victim of a State-organised assassination on June 13th, 1980 and this could only have been possible with the knowledge of then PNC Prime Minister Forbes Burnham.
In their report, the commissioners detailed the “pattern of distortion and concealment” that “transcended or infected the highest echelon of the GPF” as it relates to the investigation into Rodney’s death.
The report said there were significant material irregularities in the Inquest as the reports of the foreign experts, Drs Johnson and Skuse, were not tendered into evidence at the Inquest or the trial of Donald Rodney. Additionally, Sergeant Trenton Roach was a witness at the Inquest but was not called at the trial of Donald Rodney. The report noted that Roach conducted an important examination of electronic equipment, which consisted of three domestic radio receivers, one very High Frequency Monitor, and four walkie-talkies: two Midland and two Lafayette. They were all seized from No. 40 Russell Street, Charlestown which was the former residence of Gregory Smith, Rodney’s alleged killer.
The report said that since Roach was carrying out his examination on June 14th, 1980, the day after Rodney was killed, he thought that “this was WPA equipment.” After his examination was concluded, he wrote a statement of his findings and signed it.
“Notwithstanding the foregoing, the typed and unsigned statement which was produced to the Commission from the police file contained material discrepancies and differed from the handwritten note found by Sergeant Roach on the monitor which had read, `remember to work on the 14th and then written over the 4 was the number 3. Both the date and month on typed statement produced said `Remember to Work on 14th January, 1980 but the number four (4) was overwritten on the number two (2).’ The significance of the discrepancies in this paragraph were intended to distort the record as it relates to Smith’s role on June 13th, 1980,” the report said.
It also pointed out that the other significant discrepancies were: the date of the statement given as June 27th, 1980, and the date of the signature listed as 30th June, 1980.
According to the report, Roach strongly denied that the information on the typed record was correct. Included in the file was a typed document signed by ASP Gentle, dated 88-02-03 which stated that he and a party of policemen executed a search warrant at 40 Russell Street and seized the equipment earlier referred on June 19th, 1980.
“This, however, was another attempt to cover up the true identity of the killer by the police in relation to Dr Rodney’s death. Sgt. Roach maintained that his examination was on the day after Rodney died,” the report said. It added that another attempt to hide evidence by the police arises from the fact that they never disclosed or made public the reports of the foreign experts which provide forensic support to show that Dr Rodney was murdered.
“The stated position of the government soon after Dr Rodney’s death was that it would make all forensic reports related to his death public. That they never did,” the report observed.
Birth certificates
Further, the commissioners highlighted the granting to Gregory Smith of two inconsistent birth certificates with different and contradicting particulars and facilitating him with passports especially Guyana passport No. 0890057 issued on May 21, 1999 authorised by then Commissioner of Police and Chief Immigration Officer of Guyana, Laurie Lewis.
The report pointed out that a true copy of the extract of the Birth Register of District 8, Georgetown for the year 1964 under the hand of the Registrar dated 2014-11-04 showed that at Entry No. 99, the child [Gregory Smith] was born on June 5, 1946 at Public Hospital Georgetown. His given name at birth was William; his father’s name given as Cecil Smith (Mixed) of 64 Hunter Street; mother’s name was given as Anita Smith formerly Berry of 64 Hunter Street. This, the commissioners said, is an accurate and true record of Gregory Smith’s birth particulars.
However, the report highlighted that a true copy of the extract of the Birth Register of District 8 Plaisance for the year 1982 (after the killing of Dr Rodney] under the hand of the said Registrar, dated as well 2014-11-04, showed at Entry 87 that the child was born on 5 June 1946 at 17 Barr Street, Kitty [not Public Hospital Georgetown] whose given names [not name] at birth were Cyril Milton not [William], father’s name given as Cecil Adolphe Johnson [not Cecil Smith]; mother’s name given as Anita Johnson nee Simpson [not Anita Smith, nee Berry];
The report pointed out that in Appendices of the book, Assassination Cry of a Failed Revolution by William Gregory Smith [and his sister] Anne R Wagner, the alleged birth certificate for Cyril Milton Johnson corresponds to the latter record while the birth certificate on the second page of the appendices corresponds to the first record.
The report also said that the completed “Application [Form] For A Guyana Passport” dated December 17, 1975 followed the particulars set out with a height of 5’ 8”, which was signed by “William Smith” and had a copy of his photograph and his occupation was given at that of an Electronic Technician; this passport was issued in the name of William Smith;
It further noted that the completed “Application [Form] For A Guyana Passport” followed the particulars set out in the second record mentioned and it was unsigned by the applicant (Gregory Smith) and has a copy of Smith’s photograph but this time his date of birth was stated as June 5, 1943 [not June 5, 1946] and his occupation was [changed to that of] “Carpenter”, [not an “Electronic Technician”]. Further, it also listed his height and increased it to 5’ 9”, although he was much older.
This was the form that was approved by then top cop Lewis on May 21, 1999 and a Guyana passport was issued in the name of Cyril Milton Johnson.
The report noted that the copy of the passport on the third page of the Appendices of the book over the by-line, “Passport Cyril Johnson provided by the WPA” is a copy of a previous passport issued to Gregory Smith. It also highlighted the knowledge of the police about Smith‘s involvement in the killing of Walter, as borne by the evidence of ASP Mc Rae and its refusal to act; and the acceptance by Snr Supt James that the police investigation was unprofessional.
Unassailable
“The combination of these unassailable facts and circumstances point irresistibly to official involvement in the removal of all traces of Gregory Smith and persons closely connected to him prior and subsequently to the killing of Dr Rodney. These in turn point to a conspiracy and collaboration in the killing of Dr. Walter Rodney by, between or among the State officials, the GPF, the GDF and Gregory Smith,” the report declared.
Further, it said, when considered alongside all the other pieces of evidence in determining who was responsible for killing Dr Rodney, it is clear that the police had actual possession of the post mortem report dated June 30, 1980 from Dr. H. R. M. Johnson and investigative report dated July 23, 1980 from Dr. Frank Skuse. “These reports point to the involvement of Gregory Smith in the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. It is therefore difficult to understand why the police took no active steps to find or apprehend Gregory Smith (apart from the Police posting on its Wanted Men Board that Gregory Smith was a wanted person),” the report said.
It pointed out that in fact, at Rodney’s Inquest, when attorney Jainarine Singh was cross-examining Snr Supt Gentle, Counsel asked him when he went with a party of policemen to search the premises at Lot 40 Russell Street, Charlestown, Georgetown [where Gwendolyn Jones lived] whether he was looking for Gregory Smith and “Mr. Gentle, amazingly answered, ‘At that time, no’.”
That prompted Counsel to ask him the further question, whether he was saying up to this day [February 10, 1988] that his investigations did not show that Gregory Smith resided there [at 40 Russell Street] and his answer was: “My investigation did not include looking for Gregory Smith,” the report said.
“On this evidence, Mr Vernon Gentle and the Police were clearly implicated in the conspiracy to conceal and distort the truth relating to the killing of Dr. Rodney and events immediately following his death,” the report declared.
“The pattern of distortion and concealment did not stop with Snr. Supt. Gentle. It transcended or infected the highest echelon of the GPF,” it added.
It also highlighted several other statements from police officers to support its conclusion in this regard.
